Our staff and School Council are dedicated to provide our students with opportunities to engage in meaningful learning, both within and beyond our own school community. When looking at creating extra-curricular programming we consider the following:
- Feasibility; considering length of time, financial and structural commitments
- Educational merit; is it possible for an external community partnership to provide students with enriched access beyond what we currently offer as a school
- Community engagement in learning; are students presented with the opportunity to engage with learning beyond their traditional classroom
Extra-curricular opportunities can vary from term to term, and are often based upon regular student surveys conducted by our teachers and student leaders. The format of these opportunities can also vary. Some opportunities are delivered through recess clubs, some opportunities are delivered through formalized classes conducted by our teaching staff, whilst some opportunities are delivered through external partnerships.
As our recess clubs (often known as learning enrichment programs) can vary between terms, we have not listed details on our school website. However, what we can say is that there is something for everyone, from daily access to the school library during recess, to indoor and outdoor clubs facilitated by both students and teachers.
Students are able to take an active role in school-wide extra-curricular events such as our productions and whole-school fun days, or try out for selection-based opportunities such as our school rock band (currently performing publicly as The Electric Lyrebirds), our school aerobics team (currently competing nationally as The Shining Diamonds), or our school robotics team (currently competing statewide as the USPS Robotics Crew). Some selection-based opportunities are only open to particular year levels, with details provided directly to enrolled families.
As part of our School Strategic Plan (2022-2026) we have a focus upon creating even stronger Student Voice, Agency, and Engagement; alongside the continuous improvement of our traditional/core curriculum. Each Friday, all Year Three-Year Six students take part in cross-curricular electives which are offered based upon student survey responses from the term prior. In 2024, the Community Electives Program is in its second year of rollout, and is a weekly highlight for students each term. Elective subjects on offer can vary from touch typing to skateboarding and mountain biking, from paleontology to cooking, from sound engineering and DJing to volunteering in the local kinder. Each term we aim to offer approximately 12-14 elective subjects, so that each student has the opportunity to take part in an area of passion not offered through a traditional primary school structure.
In addition to the above electives, students in Year Five-Year Six are also able to select their own History/Geography and Health/Physical Education electives each term. The subjects on offer are based upon student surveys, and provide our students with the unique opportunity to engage in a secondary school modelled elective program linked to the Victorian Curriculum.
Below is a brief summary of just some of our current community partnerships:
3MDR Community Radio; As a school we are fortunate to host our very own on-site community radio station, 3MDR 97.1FM which is housed in the adjoining Forest Park Homestead. Our students continue to build upon our partnership with 3MDR, with roles to complement our VSSS commitments, instrumental programs, Performing Arts classes, community concerts, student electives programming, and Hamer Hall opportunities.
For more information visit: https://www.3mdr.com/
International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS); At Upwey South Primary School, we encourage students to explore a range of extra-curricular activities. One of these activities offered to our students in Year Three through to Year Six is ICAS.
ICAS Assessments are the internationally recognised gold standard in academic competitions. They recognise academic performance and contain engaging, fun questions designed by psychometricians, education measurement experts and experienced teachers to test students’ higher order thinking skills. ICAS provides rich insights into students’ strengths and weaknesses, helping teachers to accelerate learning outcomes and unlock student potential.
Upwey South Primary School offers the following assessments to students in Year Three, Year Four, Year Five and Year Six:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Digital Technologies
- Writing
- Spelling Bee
Prior to the assessments, students have the opportunity to explore the types of questions they may be exposed to and ask any questions they may have regarding the tests.
Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.
Participation is voluntary with each assessment requiring a payment per test. Payment is completed through the Parent Portal.
For more information visit: https://www.icasassessments.com/
Groove Foundations and Co Music Program: from the commencement of Foundation students are able to take part in individual music lessons on-site during the school day. Instruments on offer vary from string, to woodwind, to percussion, and vocals. This is a user-pays service.
For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/p/Groove-Foundations-Music-School-100064263150917/
JMSS Immersion Program: each Wednesday fortnight throughout the year, selected Year Six students attend John Monash Science School to engage in three programs, “Mini Mathematicians” “Robogals- Programmers” and “Big Science, Little Scientists”. This is a great opportunity for our students to engage with higher order thinking, and provides attending teachers with some insights into how they may increase the academic rigour of our own lessons.
For more information visit: https://jmss.vic.edu.au/
Victorian State Schools Spectacular: as a mentor school, USPS take part in the Mass Choir and Mass Dance. We also encourage interest from students to join the Backstage Crew for VSSS in which they learn advanced technical skills. Each year students perform to sellout audiences, with a television boradcast also occuring through commercial channels across the nation.
For more information visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/victorian-state-schools-spectacular
Hamer Hall Youth Choir: selected Year Five- Year Six students' partner with NEVR Choir Leaders to perform at Hamer Hall (Arts Centre) as part of a regional performance. The performance evening regularly combines aspects of both modern and classical music and ensembles, inclusive of renowned national artists.
For more information visit: https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/event-archive/2024/other/sonic-canvas
RoboCup Junior Australia: as part of our school’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics (STEAM) approach we have a formal robotics and coding stream running throughout all classrooms. In Foundation- Year Two, students learn about 'directional' coding and the importance of linking-steps/instructions. This is conducted through the application of Beebots, which enable students to manipulate the direction and movement of a robotic bee, through the use of single-touch directional coding. In Year Three-Four, students begin to incorporate multi-step coding sequences, inclusive of both directional manipulation, and movement manipulation. Coding at this year level is undertaken using Dash and Dot robots, which allow for both icon-based coding sequences and simple language-based sequencing. At Year Five-Six, students are exposed to EV3 Mindstorms, Lego SPIKE, Sphero, and associated robotics building kits which allow for creation of multi-directional, multi-sequencing units, with the addition of customised add-ons designed by the students. Coding at this level is much more complex, and allows for the combination of both icon-based coding sequences and coding-language sequencing, both in block form and repeated singular form. Students in Year Five-Six are able to nominate to join the USPS Robotics team, and compete through RoboCup Junior; with teams entering through various competitive streams such as RoboRescue, RoboDance, and LegoSPIKE Challenges.
For more information visit: https://www.robocupjunior.org.au/
FISAF Sport Aerobics: As part of our Year Three-Six electives programming, students in year Four-Year Six can nominate for our school sport aerobics team. Our school is partnered with FISAF Australia, which is a combined independent clubs and independent schools competition. Students in our aerobics team practise set routines on a weekly basis , entering external competitions throughout the year. In 2024, our school team qualified for the invitational-only FISAF Nationals, held on the Gold Coast.
For more information visit: https://fisafaustralia.com.au/
Excursions, Incursions, and Camps
Excursions and incursions are undertaken at all year levels across our school. These events are planned to provide our students with first-hand experiences designed to complement the classroom learning program being undertaken for the specific term. Some excursions/incursions may occur across specialist subjects, such as Science, the Arts, or Languages.
The camping program provides opportunities for students in Year Three-Year Six to develop skills and abilities out of the school environment. Students can experience adventure activities not normally available in day-to-day school activities. The program is designed to assist the gradual development of independence, self-responsibility, confidence, and social skills for all students.
All Year Three- Year Six students have the opportunity to attend one three-day camp per calendar year.
Students in Year Five-Year Six are also provided with the opportunity once every two years to apply to attend Somers School Camp, which is a nine-day experience with students from schools across our region.
Parental involvement on camps and excursions is sometimes required, and is very much appreciated. Every effort is made to allow those parents who wish to attend excursions to have the opportunity over the year, however this is not always possible.
For details of excursions/incursions, and school camps, please refer to our Compass Calendar.